Spicks and Specks
by Caryce Jade
Summary: This is my collection of one-shots for the OC Boot Camp Challenge. Some are in the Reassembly universe, some are not. Either way, it's all good, clean fun.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own this.**

**AN: This is a series one-shots that take place in one of two universes for the OC Boot Camp Challenge. They either take place in the Reassembly universe or in a universe I am calling Us of Lesser Gods. In the Us of Lesser Gods universe, all of my OCs except for Amy are ten years younger than in Reassembly. Amy is eighteen years younger, and is in the same year as Ginny. Also, this WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Us of Lesser Gods will be a Marriage Law story, and the main pairing will be Hermione/Remus, but this is where the side characters come out to play. Bel is also known as Bryn in the UOLG universe, and has a slightly different personality. I will always tell you what universe a one-shot is in. ONWARD!**

**FURY (Reassembly)**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione had thought that it was nearly impossible to make Everett truly angry. That is, until someone managed to set off Walburga Black's portrait, whose pureblood suprrmacist rantings unleashed a fury-fueled rant in return.**

**"Shut up, you old bat!" he shouted at the portrait. "Who he HELL are you to run off about purity and such? From what I've seen, you have TWO good kids, and you've thrown it away on account of your so-called purity! Let me tell you something. Blood means absolutely nothing in this world, and you purebloods have nearly inbred yourselves out of existence. So SHUT UP!"**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other in the library. "How," Hermione asked, "do you suppose he knew Sirius had a brother?"**

**"I don't know, but Sirius got really upset when you asked what happened to him. I found him crying in the kitchen, and Mrs. Weasley trying to calm him down," Harry replied. "She finally had to call Jade to calm him down."**

**"I still feel really bad about that. Kreacher keeps mumbling something about drowning." The ornery old house-elf had, for reasons unknown, taken a shine to the three of them, and would let valuable information slip.**

**"You couldn't have known how much it would bother him," Harry said. "I get the feeling Dad knows more than he's letting on, but he's not talking." His frown deepened. "It's more like he CAN'T talk about it than he won't."**

**"Guys," Ron finally broke in. "Why do I get the feeling that we're missing something important here?"**

**"What's that?" Hermione asked.**

**"I don't know what," Ron replied. "Just that it's important."**


	2. Chapter 2

**I in no way own this.**

**Insanity (Us of Lesser Gods, fall 1994)**

Bryn wondered if she had been struck by some form of insanity. She had gotten a flash of of images as she had grabbed Professor Moody's arm when the stairs had shifted unexpectedly. Later, upon examining the images in a pensieve in the privacy of her Head Girl chambers, she came to the conclusion that Professor Moody was actually Bartemius Crouch, Jr., Azkaban escapee and Death Eater.

At least, that's what it had looked like on the surface. Bryn went through the images with the proverbial fine-toothed comb, and found something far more sickening, horrifying, and offensive. The real Barty Crouch was locked away in the back of his consciousness, and was screaming for help. For one of yhe first times in her seventeen years, she was glad that her older brothers, Carl, Dale, and Everett, had taught her, Everett's daughter, Amy, and Carl's daughter, Chelsea, who was a third-year Gryffindor and had been a Ravenclaw three years ago respectively, to recognize and identify the many forms of mind magic as they learned to control their abilities as natural legillimens and true seers. So she recognized the curse as the _Imprisio_, a rare and particularly evil offshoot of the _Imperius_. Instead of creating blissfulness in the victim, the _Imprisio_ lockef the real consciousness of the person away and created a false persona that followed the instructions of the caster implicitly. One haf to be very powerful to cast the spell, though once fast, it was thought impossible to break, though Bryn had, upon further research, found a spell that would counteract the effects for up to twenty-four hours, depending on the strength of the caster.

She had had to let Carl, Dale, and Everett in on what she was doing to obtain the book on the _Imprisio_, which they sent with the instructions to move with caution, plan each move carefully, and to contact them if she hit any snags or needed advice. The book was from the fifth century, and had been carefully translated inti English by her brother, Ira, who had a particular affinity for language.

It had taken her two weeks of study begore she felt comfortable casting the countrspell, plus find and learn a spell that countrracted the effects of polyjuice potion. She sure as hell was NOT going to ask Snape. Their mutual dislike of each other was only partially countrteacted by the grudging respect he had for Carl and Everett, who were both brilliant potions masters. Carl had a preference for research, but Bryn, Chelsea, and Amy had all wished many times that Everett was their potions professor. Duing summer lessons, he was strict, but fair, and he made the material intetesting. He also did not believe in favoring one house over the others. Bryn, Amy, and Chelsea appreciated that sentiment. She was glad that her Head Girl status was an automatic pass to thr Restricted Section. She had only asked for a translated copy of **Darkest Mind Magicks** because she did not have time to translate the school's copy, nor did she trust a translation spell on something this delicate. Her sense of compassion compelled her to move quickly, but not without careful planning on her part.

Today was the day, however. She had already set things up, asking "Professor Moody" if she could come by his office today to discuss the finer points of her research assignment. When she arrived, she would, upon the door closing, cast the counterspell for the _Imprisio_, then the polyjuice counterspell. She then hoped to get to know the real Barty Crouch, Jr., and hopefully find out who cast the _Imprisio_. How quickly she would be able to accomplish this, plus find a way to break the curse, would depend on his emotional state.

She sighed and gathered her books, making sure her wand was in its holster on her left forearm. She didn't really need it, but its presence was reassuring. It was the only one of its kind that Ollivander had ever sold. Eleven inches, cedar with a thestral hair core. Apparantly, since no one else living had one, its properties were unconfirmed, though Ollivander had speculated that it would be exceptional with mind magics and mind healing, as well as anything to do with the bonds between life and death. That might come in handy, since she had considered mind healing as a career, though research was more up her alley.

As she made her way to the office, she went over in her head the exact order of what she intended to do: wait until the door was closed, cast the temporary counterspell to the _Imprisio_, then the polyjuice counterspell, and go from there.

Bryn knocked on the door. A gruff voice called out, "Come in, Miss Latham."

Things moved quickly after that. As soon as the door clicked shut, Bryn cast the two spells, revealing a man in his early thirties who looked absolutely terrified. For a brief moment, she wasn't sure if he was going to scream, cry, throw up, or pass out. He finally gave a gasping sob and choked out, "I've been screaming...so long...no one heard me..." He broke down into anguished sobbing.

Bryn quickly crossed the room and put her arns around him. "I heard you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Own this, I do not.**

**Outside (Ressembly, summer 1994)**

Jade looked down at her wrist as the bracelet that she had spelled to warn her if someone crosses the wards around her summer cottage began to vibrate. Her eyes narrowed. No one could cross the wards without her permission. There were only five people living who had a standing invitation to cross the wards, and only they could apparate inside: her parents, her sisters, and Sirius.

She gave a half-smile as she quickly put a stasis charm oved the experiment that she was working on, them made a hasty exit from her lab at St. Mungo's to the apparition point.

She apparated about thirty feet from her front door, looked around, and nearly gasped at the sight before her. It looked like Sirius had just made it to the end of her porch before passing out.

She looked up at the sky as she strode up to the porch. It was trying to rain. How long had he been outside? Even though it had been over twelve years since she had seen him, she would know him anywhere, or her name wasn't Jade Cummings.

Jade crouched down next to him and shook his shoulder, while pulling out her wand. He was far too thin. Neither he nor his brother has ever been particularly hearvy, but he looked like skin stretched over bone now. She was frightened to realize that the heat radiating from his body was far too high to be healthy. She cast several diagnostic spells so that she would know what she was dealing with. Her eyes widened in horror. Severe malnutrition, physical and magical exhauastion, plus a lung infection and a nasty case of food poisoning. She shook her head. How had he made it to Cardiff from upper Scotland? She was smart enough to realize that something must have went wrong for him to be here without Harry. She almost growled. Pettigrew, damn him to the deepest pit of hell. If she ever got her hands on him, she would rip him from stem to stern-_without magic._

Outside, she was calm, but inside, she was worried, scared, and angry. The rational, understandable anger was at Crouch and Fudge, for throwing her fiancé in Azkaban without a trial and for permitting the horrific conditions of that hellhole, Pettigrew for framing him, Dumbledore for not smelling a rat (literally and figuratively), and the wizarding public at large for conveniently ignoring the conditions of the prison. The irrational anger was at her father for taking too long to solidify his power base, though she knew, logically, that he needed to have all the evidence lined up, and sufficient support within the ministry, to demand and get investigations into Crouch and Fudge's actions during- and post-war, with the aim of he himself being named Minister of Magic. From there, he now intended to ask Sirius to turn himself in with the guaranted of a quick and fair trial. He also intended to go through the manifest of prisoners and ensure that there was nobody unlisted or unaccounted for, and that ALL had actually committed the crimes of which they had been convicted. Eugene Cummings, despite being ambitious and cunning, as all Slytherins were, also had a very strong sense of honor and fairness.

She was jerked out of her musings as Sirius began to respond to her shaking. "Jade? I..." He broke off in a fit of coughing.

"Yes, it's me, Siri. You made it." She helped him to sit up and lean against her shoulder. She could have just levitated him into the house and to the bedroom, but she was willing to bet that with the food poisoning and the lung infection, he was probably nauseous, and she wanted to spare him as much misery as she could. Wincing as the coughing turned into retching, she positioned him so that he wouldn't choke.

It was several minutes later when he finally stopped and fell limp against her shoulder. "Sorry," he managed to rasp.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Siri," Jade replied as she vanished the mess. "Let's get you inside, cleaned up, and in bed."

He nodded, and Jade pulled him up, pulling one arm over her shoulder, then looping an arm around his waist. _Damn, I'm willing to bet he only weighs about a hundred pounds._ She was only an inch or so shorter than him, but she probably outweighed him by about forty pounds at the moment. She felt anger rise in her again, but quickly tamped it down, since it would not do him any good right now.

It took moving slowly in stages, but Jade managed to half-carry Sirius to the bathroom. As she helped him to sit on the edge of the tub, she surveyed his clothes, lips pursed in disgust. There was absolutely _nothing_ salvageable about the clothes he was wearing. Fortunately, her step-nephew had left some pyjamas, shirts, and pants when he, Nell, her husband, their four children, and his son had visited right before Hajime had started his second year at Hogwarts. Kenshin had always, for as long as she had known him, had a very slight build. Hajime and his younger brother Daisuke had both taken after Shippo by being stocky rather than slim.

"Siri, will you be alright here long enough for me to go get some pyjamas that Kenshin, you know, Nell's stepson, left? I'll only be a minute."

He nodded weakly. "Yeah." He then got very still, laying a shaking hand on his stomach, his face aquiring a green tint. Jade noticed this and helped him to kneel in front of the toilet. She had one arm looped in front of him and the other was rubbing circles into his back. She could feel his stomach muscles contracting as he struggled to regain control.

"Don't fight it, Siri," she said softly, gathering his hair back.

He didn't fight it for very long. After a few bouts of violent sickness, he fell back into Jade's arns. She _accio_-ed a pillow and a blanket, letting him rest his head in her lap until they came into the room. As soon as she had gotten him as comfortable as she could be under the circumstances, she began gathering the things she would need, such as towels, washcloths, a comb, scissors, and pyjamas, as well as making sure that the bedroom across the hall was ready.

She then carefully ran some water into the tub, preferring to do so manually rather than by magic. She found that she had better control over the temperature when she did it manually. Once the water was on the cooler side of warm, as she did not want to aggrevate his fever, she began to obliterate the tattered remnants of his vlithing one by one. She had akready decided to cut seversl inches of the solid mat of hair before seeing what was salvageable about the rest, so she quickly did that as evenly as possible before lowering her fiancé into the tub. She had already planned to send coded letters to her father and Remus Lupin, using only the words "The star is behind the wall." Her father would definitely know what she neant right off, and Remus was bright enough to pick up on it. Her sumner cottage near Cardiff was known as "The Wall" within the circle of her family and close friends.

As she was combing what had been salvageable of his hair, she asked, "Is it safe to send word to Remus?"

"Yeah. He knows the truth." He frowned. The muggle cough syrup Jade had given him was making him drowsy. She could not get potions from St. Mungo's without attracting suspicion, and Everett Latham was not currently in the UK, but he had given Jade several contacts in the muggle world who understood the value of discretion. "Sev, no. Doesn't have hid real memories back yet."

"Every time Ev, you know, Bel's brother, meets him, he pushes on the dam between the false memories and the real ones, as far as he dares."

"James' letter will come on Harry's fifteenth birthday."

"Good. What went wrong?"

"Pettigree got away, Remus forgot his wolfsbane, Sev went spare...almost everything. Harry and his friend Hermione wound up pulling my butt out of the fire." He yawned.

"Let me get some broth down you, then I'll let you sleep for a while. I'll house the hippogriff if he'll let me."

"If you treat him with respect (yawn)...give him some meat, you'll be fine. His name's Buckbeak."

"Nice to know." She kissed her fiancé on the forehead. "You're cooler than you were a little ago." She went into the kitchen, and after a few bangs and curses, she had some broth in a small cup. "I don't want to give you too much yet," she said, helping him to take sipd of the liquid. "If you keep that down, we'll re-visit the issue." Her look brooked no arguement. Sirius knew that look a little too well, and knew that arguing was an exercise in futility, not that he really felt up to it at the moment. The desire to sleep was taking precedence.

As soon as she was sure that he was asleep, Jade clesned up the mess that her caring for him had made. She then pulled a package of chicken out of the refrigerator to coax Buckbeak with so that she could house him in her garden shed.

It took much patience and coaxing, but soon the hippogriff was eating chickrn out of her hand and letting her pet him. "Thank you for getting him here safe," she said, scratching his neck. She could have sworn the hipppgriff winked at her as she led him to the shed.

That being done, she tied a letter to the leg of her owl, Felix. "Take this to Father. Wait for a reply." The owl flew off.

She then tied a letter to her own leg and changed into a toucan in order to take a letter to Remus. She had visited Remus using the toucan before, so it would not appear suspicious. This done, she flew off into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Me no own.**

**Hope (Us of Lesser Gods, June 2002)**

Lavender knocked on the door of the flat, hoping that the Ministry had assigned her to marry, but that she had never met, was home.

The door opened, and a tall, kind-looking man in early middle years opened the door. "Hello," he said, "and who might you be?"

"Lavender Brown, and are you Carl Latham?"

"Yes, I am. Come in, Lavender. What brings you out so late at night?"

She followed him into the small flat. It was pleasant and tidy, and the man she now knew to be her ministry assigned fiancé was not bad to look at, either. He was tall and slim, with dark chestnut hair, a moustache, and intense blue eyes. He was wearing fitted black pants and a turquoise button-down with the first few buttons undone. "My roomate was shagging her fiancé, my ex of only two months, who broke up with me because of my scars and because I have to take a disgusting potion every month, in the middle of the living room!" She knew she was crying, and she felt Carl lead her to, then sit her down on, the couch. She then felt him put an arm around her and draw her to him. She sobbed into his shirt, feeling him rock her back and forth while stroking her hair and whispering kind words to her.

Finally, she stopped crying and drew back. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I believe I've soaked your shirt."

"You're welcome, and that's not important. You can stay tonight if you'd like. We'd have to share a bed because this couch is hard as a brick after an hour or two, and the second bedroom doesn't have a bed in it."

"That would be fine," Lavender replied. "I don't think I could handle seeing Parvati and Michael right now."

"I don't blame you in the least. You can stay as long as you like. I'm not working tomorrow unless I get called in," he pulled a mobile phone out of his pocket and plugged a charger into it. "My team gets mighty angry if they can't get ahold of me. We can go tomorrow and collect some of your things if you want to, and perhaps get to know each other better. Now let's see about finding us each some pyjamas. I had only been home about an hour when yoi came."

Lavender nodded. "I'd like to stay. The letter says that we have to marry within three weeks of recieving it, so I guess we need to get used to each other."

"I'm guessing they're giving us less time due to your being a werewolf, though I've told the dumbasses at the Ministry that such things don't bother me. I'm a potions master, and if there's ever a situation where I can't brew wolfsbane, Everett can do it just as well, as you well know. Also, my private research is on improving wolfsbane, as well as preventing the long-term health issues associated with werewolfism." He led her into the bedroom and turned on the light.

Lavender sat on the deep red duvet that covered the bed, watching as Carl went through drawers to find two sets of pyjamas. She knew how flawless Everett's brewing skills were, as he had been her potions professor when she had repeated her seventh year. She had gotten to know Everett's daughter Amy very well during that year. Her father was an excellent teacher who made the material interesting, and did not discriminate by house, even though his daughter and much younger sister had both been Gryffindors. She had not known Bryn very well, but she had always been very nice to everyone. He had always been unstintingly kind when it came to giving Professor Lupin and herself the wolfsbane and providing them a safe place every full moon. It suddenly occured to her that Carl and Everett were brothers, and she started laughing. "I just realized that you and Professor Latham are brothers."

"Yes, we are. I am the oldest of the three of us. There are fifteen of us all together. I'm almost fifty-two, Dale's almost fifty-one, and Ev's fifty. None of us look our ages, we know. Partially it is due to being wizards, and partially due to a genetic fluke that seems to be dominant in our family. That is why Dale, Ev, and I only look to be in our early to mid thirties at the most, though we are in our early fifties. Our oldest sister, Alberta, is almost sixty-two, but barely looks thirty-five." He tossed her a pair of dark blue pjyama pants and a long-sleeved grey shirt. She caught them with ease, and he pulled out a green plaid pair of pants and a deep green long-sleeved shirt for himself. He began unbuttoning his shirt. "We might as well get comfortable changing in front of each other. It won't be long until we are expected to do _other_ things with each other, and I don't know about you, but I want to get any awkwardness out of the way." He tossed the shirt into a hamper in the cotner of the room.

"You may have a point," Lavender replied, bending down to take off her shoes and socks. She was self-conscious about the scars on het back and right side from Greyback's attack.

"You don't have to be self-conscious about your scars with me," Carl said softly, coming over to her. "Scars are proof that you survived, which takes a lot more courage than just rolling over and dying." He kissed her on the forehead, then said, "While you're finishing changing, I'll see if I can find us something to eat. Do you have any allergies that I need to know about?"

"No," Lavender replied while pulling off her shirt.

"Good. Is chicken, baked potato, and salad alright with you?"

"That would be great."

"Alright. The bathroom is through that door." He pointed at the first of the two doors other than the entrance. "The other is the closet. There's another bathroom between the living room and the second bedroom. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything." He went towards the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Lavender walked towards the kitchen. Her jaw almost dropped before she caught herself. She had never really watched anyone cook like a muggle before, but Carl was doing it with ease.

"I prefer cooking like a muggle," Carl said. "I can cook with magic if I'm in a hurry, but this was how my mother taughr us to cook. She was a muggle, and was the mother of the oldest nine of us. The youngest six, Corrie is their mother. She is a muggleborn. You'll meet Pap and Corrie, my grandparents, the rest of my siblings, and Mam, my great grandmother before the wedding. You already know Everett and Amy, and have met Bryn and Dale. You also need to meet my kids, and I need to meet your parents."

"You have kids? I'll set the table if you tell me where everything is."

"Plates are in the far right-hand cabinet, glasses are the next one in, and silverware is in the drawer below the plates." He waited as she began to get the items. "I have two, actually. A son and a daughter. Samuel is thirty-five and married with two boys and a third child on the way. Sam is not mine bioligically, but I am his father in every way that matters. Sandy was four months pregnant with him when we met. He works for the Muggle Relations office out of the Downing Street branch. You might have seen my daughter before. She was Head Girl your first year. Chelsea was a Ravenclaw. She's having to get married because of this law as well. She got Rabastan Lestrange. He was under that double-damned _Imprisio_ curse as well, like poor Barty was. Bellatrix was one sick individual. Incidentally, Bryn ended up with Barty. No surprise there, since she saved his soul and freed him from the curse. Rab started working for me about a year back. He, like Barty, has to live with the knowledge of what his body has done, even though his mind wasn't in the game."

Lavender remembered Chelsea. She was petite, with masses if red-gold hair and the electric blue eyes that seemed to be a family trait. "I remember Chelsea. She helped me a few times when I got lost my first year, and explained a charms assignment that I didn't understand. She always had a smile on her face. Bryn was in my house, but I wasn't close to her. I admit I was more into clothes, gossip, and boys then.I became friends with Amy when I repeated my seventg year. Who did she get? I hsven't owled her to ask yet."

"Regulus Black. Seems nice enough. He joined my team last month." Four years ago, after ghe final battle, the Veil had spat out three people: Sirius Black, Regulus Black, and Barty Crouch, Jr. All three had looked to be between the ages of eighteen and twenty. It had taken some time to clear everything up, and the trials had been followed with rapt attention. Sirius had been, due to overwhelming evidence, declared innocent. Regulus' charges were dismissed due to him being underage when he joined the Death Eaters, as well as evidence that indcated that he did not join entirely of his own free will. Barty had been issued a full and unconditional pardon due to being under the _Imprisio_, a rare and particularly evil offshoot of the _Imperius_. With the_ Imprisio_, you were aware of what your body and the fake persona were doing, but were powerless to stop it. By the time Bryn, who was an expert in mind magics, had finished presenting the information and documentation regarding the _Imprisio_, the courtroom had looked thoroughly sickened. Neville had looked like he was going to hurl right then and there. The trial of Rabastan, who had also NOT joined of his own free will, but only after repeated torture, and when he still refused to join, the _Imprisio_ Had made him physically sick, snd he had been far from the only one so affected.

"Let's see..." He began plating the food. "Dale got Andromeda Tonks, Ev got Narcissa Malfoy, Harry got Ginny, Ron got Luna, Hermione got Remus Lupin, Sirius has Jade Cummings, Regulus and Amy, Bryn and Barty, Neville and Hannah, Draco and Astoria Greengrass, and that is all I know for sure."

Lavender nodded as Carl went to the refrigerator and grabbed a pitcher. "Iced tea alright?"

"Yes. I've never had iced, only hot."

"I like hot tea when I'm sick or really stressed out, but I prefer iced most of the time." He poured her a glass, then himself, then set the pitcher on the table. "Do you want us to meet your parents tomorrow? Maybe we can start on picking out robed for you for the wedding? I don't do robes, but I have my American wizarding formal wear."

"What color is your formal wear, and what does it consist of?"

"Black corduroy pants and black knee boots, cream shirt with large ruffles on the neck and wrists, a dove-grey velvet jacket and emerald green waistcoat."

"Sounds nice. I would like to get grey or green robes, then. After we eat," she took a sip of the tea. It was surprisingly good. "I need to owl my parents telling them to ecpect us tomorrow. They've been worried all week about who the Ministry would assign me to. Then I need to start robe shopping, and I need to get my things from the flat. I'm saving the most painful task for last. I want to meet Sam and Chelsea, but that may have to wait. When do you want the wedding?"

"Is a week from tomorrow good? I have a six-day furlough coming up. Chelsea and Amy will want to go robe shopping with you, and Chelsea, Amy, and Bryn are inseparable."

"Good. I want to get to know Bryn and Chelsea better. The date is fine. That would be June twenty-sixth. I was planning on asking Parvati to be my maid of honor, but I am reconsidering. I want Hermione in the party since we became friends after the war. Definitely Amy, Ginny, Luna, and Astoria."

"Dale, Everett, our brothers Jim and Bruce, and Sam. Let's make the date the twenty-seventh. The twenty-sixth is my birthday, and while that woulf make my anniversary easy to remember, it wouldn't be fair to you."

"What do you do?" Lavender asked, realizing she knew next to nothing about what Carl did for a living. "The twenty-seventh is fine with me."

"I am a physician as well as an Investigative Healer at St. Mungo's. I've been there over twenty years, but only as a department head for the last fifteen."

"No place will hire me. Things have gotten better for werewolves, but it is very slow going, even with Hermione and Bryn pushing bills through to the Minister, and the Minister and Vice-Minister's official stance on werewolves being generally positive."

"The Ministry is ninety-nine percent idiots. My departmrnt will hire you if you want. It consists of the open-minded and curious. What are you good at, and what do you like to do?"

"Charms was my strong point, and I liked History of Magic in spite of Binns'droning."

"Can you file paperwork and files, transcribe audio to text, and send charts to different departments as well as to the aurors?"

"Yes, I can." It actually did not sound difficult, and perhaps could be interesting.

"Good. I wouldn't want you in too dangerous of a job, since wd have to conceive within a year of marrying."

Lavender blushed. She had forgotten that part. Contrary to rumor, she was still a virgin, and the child had to be conceived by direct copulation which, until the woman was pregnant, had to take place at least once a week, the exceptions being menstruation and illness of either spouse. "I understand that. I want to do something reasonably peaceful and quiet."

"I'll discuss it with my team the day after tomorrow. We've been talking about needing somebody to do that, but have yet to hire anybody. Tomorrow I want to devote to getting to know you and meeting your needs in this. Do you have any questions or concerns?"

"How will I be treated as your wife, considering that I am a werewolf?"

"As my equal partner in this marriage. Sure, there will be times that we will fight or argue, but I would be very worried if we didn't. I will never hit you or cheat on you; I take my marriage vowd seriously. You will be my _wife_, not my property, and will be treated as such, and any who dares to insult you will find they are also insulting me. I do not expect you to do all the housework. I enjoy cooking unless I've had a really long day or am not feeling well. When I've had a twelve to sixteen hour dsy, even burnt cardboard tastes good."

Lavender laughed. "I can definitely cook better than that. I'll cook if my shift is shorter than yours right now. I don't mind doing laundry, but hate dishes."

"Works for me. I hate laundry, but don't mind dishes. Speaking of which, if you want to sort what is already dirty in the bedroom, I'll handle the dinner dishes."

Lavender nodded, and they both carried out their respective chores, then sat down next to each other on the couch. Impulsively, Carl placed an arm around her, and Lavender laid her head on his shoulder. His scent was comforting for some reason. "Do you want a boy or a girl?" she asked suddenly.

"It doesn't matter to me as long as both you and the child are healthy. I just hope he or she has your hair and nose..."

"...and your eyes," Lavender broke in, smiling.

Carl smiled back. "That usually happens, though grey or green eyes occasionally pop up. It is so rare in our family that we would never have a moment's peace from the steady stream of well-meaning visitors eager to catch a glimpse of the 'little angel'."

Lavender shuddered, and Carl laughed aloud. "My sentiments exactly. I'll text my team and tell them that I am unavailable tomorrow unless it is an absolute emergency. Ask if ten a.m. is good, since we have a lot to do."

Lavender nodded, then got up from her fiancé's surprisingly comfortable embrace as he went for his mobile. She started towards his desk, where his owl sat perched, regarding her with curiosity.

"Paper is in the top left drawer, quills and ink are above it. I'm a southpaw, and forget many aren't. Just tell Morse where you want him to go, and to wait on a reply. I will be texting my team, but will be over here on the couch in case Morse gets snippy with you. Morse," her turned to the owl, "behave."

Morse gave a look that plainly stated "Oh, all right, I'll behave, THIS time," then turned towards Lavender.

As Catl texted his team members, his son, and his daughter, Lavender wrote the note to her parents. She mentioned that Carl was very nice, though quite a bit older than her, and asked if ten a.m. was all right. She then affixed the note to Morse's leg. "Take this to Paul Brown," she said. "Wait for a reply, please, Morse." The owl flew out the kitchen window.

Within thirty minutes, Morse returned. Lavender read the note he returned with. Her parents only cared about how she would be treated, not anything like age difference. "Ten a.m. is fine, Carl," she said.

"Good. Let's get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We'll meet Sam at two."

As they were lying in bed, Carl, thinking that Lavender was asleep, said softly, "I think I'm beginning to care for you. I hope that someday, maybe you will begin to care for me."

On the edge of sleep, he heard her reply sleepily, "I already have begun."


	5. Chapter 5

**This I do not own**

**You Can't Catch Me (Reassembly, August 2000)**

"You can't catch me, Uncle Siri!" Four-year-old Lyra ran from her uncle laughing, auburn curls flying behind her.

"Wanna bet, munchkin?" Sirius mock-growled at her, running after her.

"Save me, Daddy!" She hid behind Regulus.

"Alright, Lyra, I'll save you from the evil Uncle Siri." He turned around, picked her up, and set her on his shoulders.

"That won't do you much good, Reggie. I'm still taller than you!"

"I can run faster, though!" He made to run, but at the last moment, swung Lyra toward Sirius, who immediately turned into Padfoot and licked Lyra's cheek.

"That tickles," Lyra giggled.

"Daddy, Uncle Reggie, we wanna play too!" Sirius' four-year-old twins, only a little over a month younger than Lyra, ran up from where they were playing on the swings.

Sirius changed back, then said, "Okay, Mira, Gene, we'll play tag until Ev and Cissy get here with Lucy and Oliver. Do you have Oliver's present on the table with the others,"

"Yes, Daddy," the twins intoned. Mira had her father's dark hair, but her mother's hazel eyes, while Regulus Eugene, who was called Gene within the family to avoid confusion with his uncle, had his mother's strawberry-blonde hair and his maternal grandfather's piercing blue eyes. They looked at each other and giggled.

"Do you think he'll like it, Daddy?" Mira asked.

"Oh, he'll love it. He'll only be two, so it will go straight in his mouth," Sirius replied.

"Be nice," Regulus broke in, flashing a rare grin.

"Make me." Sirius nudged his brother with his shoulder.

"Boys..." Both brothers looked up at their wives.

"Busted," Lyra whispered, and the twins broke out in identical smirks.

"Yes, busted," Regulus' wife, Amy, said, hugging their daughter, careful of her advanced pregnancy. She was due within the next two weeks.

"Very busted." Sirius' wife, Jade, broke in. She laid a hand on her stomach. She had been dropping hints to Sirius that she was pregnant again, and knew that he was on the verge of figuring it out. Hopefully, he wouldn't find out the way he did when she was pregnant with the twins, who were only a little over a month younger that Lyra. He had still been a wanted man, they weren't yet married, her pregnant sister-in-law to be was anxious and worrying over her missing husband, and her stellar display of digestive pyrotechnics four mornings in a row before he had swallowed his pride and asked Molly Weasley for, then cast, the pregnancy test spell still made her wince. It had been a _long_ time before she could even _look_ at eggs again.

"And that is were I come in," Everett, Amy's father, said, picking up Lyra. He leaned over and kissed his daughter on the cheek

"Papaw! Where's Cissa?"

"Oh, she's coming with Lucy and Oliver. She ran into Sev and decided to wait for Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Luna. Everett had married Narcissa Malfoy shortly after Lucius'posthumus daughter Lucretia had been born. Lucius had sacrificed himself to aid Harry in defeating Voldemort. Everett had been with him in the several hours it had taken him to die, and had been charged with the care of Narcissa, Draco, and his unborn child. Over the last six months of Narcissa's pregnancy, the two of them had grown close, since Everett had become a very frequent presence in her life and, due to unforeseen circumstances, had delivered Lucretia, who had light brown hair, but her father's grey eyes and pale coloring. Draco adored his sister and half-brother, as well as the half-sibling that was due at the end of January. He also had a very close relationship with his stepfather, which surprised some until they actually saw them interact with each other. Draco was currently the Arithmancy Professor for third through fifth years, and was planning on proposing to Luna, who was surprisingly good at theoretical maths and could spend hours discussing theories with her stepfather-in-law-to-be.

Harry and Hermione had gotten together during their seventh year, while Ron had unexpectedly began dating Millicent Bulstrode, who had just had their daughter, Elizabeth. Ginny and Hajime Kitsune had married almost as soon as they had graduated, since, upon seeing that her study partner for History of Magic had imprinted on her (which meant that he would either have to marry her or wait either centuries or millennia for her reincarnation), and had been interested i her since second year, she saw him with new eyes. Hajime was half fox demon, so there had been a public wedding as well as a private ritual where he took her as his mate. Neville had been dating Midoriko, Hajime's sister, since halfway through his fifth year and her first, so another ritual was more than likely not far off.

Everybody looked up as Narcissa brought the birthday boy to the group. Oliver had his father's dark brown hair and blue eyes, but his mother's nose and chin. Behind Narcissa were Dale and Remus, who had been trying for a child since the war had ended. Sirius sincerely hoped that it would happen for them soon. The twins had been unexpected, but he wouldn't trade anything for them.

Harry and Severus arrived, bringing the cake and bantering with each other. Their father-son relationship, which had had to grow very tight very fast during the war had only grown closer in the little under five years since. Harry's glamours had faded, and other than height, eye color, nose shape, and a few other minor details, he and Severus closely resembled each other.

The other guests began arriving, bearing gifts which, true to Sirius' prediction, eventually ended up in Oliver's mouth. Fortunately, the boy was in a cheerful mood, and no tantrums took place, not even when he could not sit in Amy's lap due to their being a baby bump in the way. He was as as excited as a two-year-old could be about being an uncle again.

Eventually the party broke up, and Sirius and Regulus were left to their own devices as they helped clean up.

"You know, Reggie," Sirius said, looking soberly at his brother, "I don't say this often enough, but I'm glad you're my little brother, and I'm glad Ev and Amy found a way to save you, even though it meant me thinking you were dead for sixteen years." He drew his brother into a one-armed embrace. "Love ya, kid."

"Likewise," Regulus replied. "Rarely a day went by, even when I was so sick and convinced that I was going to die from that potion, or while I was comatose after escaping with Sev, that I difn't think about you and wish you well."

"I think, deep down, I knew you weren't dead, but until Hermione solved yours and Amy's riddle, and Sev, Ev, and Amy told me, I didn't believe it. That was when I swore that if you did not survive, I would help raise Lyra as though she were my own."

"We're getting awfully mushy here," Regulus said, smirking, while stacking folding chairs.

"I know." Sirius gave an identical smirk. "Pretty soon we're going to start weeping into tubs of ice cream."

Regulus burst out laughing at the image that created. "So...when are you going to tell Jade that you know she's pregnant?"

Sirius' laughter rang out across the yard.


	6. Chapter 6

**I in no way own this **

**Black (Reassembly, 1 September 2007)**

The staff table was buzzing. Three Black children were to be sorted this year. Bets were being thrown as to what houses Sirius and Jade's twins, Mira and Gene, as well as Regulus and Amy's daughter, Lyra, would be sorted into. Sirius and Jade had both been Gryffindors, while Regulus had been a Slytherin. Amy had not went to Hogwarts, though her aunt, Bel, Severus' wife, had been a Gryffindor. She had admitted, though, that the Sorting Hat had said she would have also done well in Slytherin or Ravenclaw.

Dumbledore, who had surpassed old and was heading towards ancient, wad trying to keep the betting quiet, though his bet was that none of then would be in the same house, though he did not specify which child would be in what house. Only two of Jade's siblings, her late brother, Richard, and her sister, Olivia, had been in the same house, both Slytherins. Her eldest sister, Eleanor, had been a Ravenclaw, and not one of Eleanor's four children had been in the same house as any of their siblings. So the odds were as good as any that history might repeat itself there. Severus and Harry had both refused to bet, saying that they knew enough of each child's personalities to give them an unfair advantage, while Hermione had refused to bet on principle, while some of the wilder bets had put all three in Slytherin Gryffindor.

Finally, Hagrid and Gregory Goyle, who had become his protege after the war, brought the nervous first-years in.

After that, things moved quickly. Finally, "Black, Lyra!"

Lyra, tall for her age, with long auburn curls and her father's grey-green eyes, strode confidently toward the stool.

"RAVENCLAW!" The Sorting Hat shouted after a moment's pause.

"Black, Mira." Another pause.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Black, Regulus." Most people at the staff table knew the boy went by Gene within the family and with friends.

The Sorting Hat paused for almost a full minute, then, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"A Black, in Hufflepuff?" another staff member whispered in astonishment.

"But of course," Hermione replied to the fellow professor. "The twins' great-great grandfather, Eustace Cummings, was known as the Hufflepuff Headmaster. Read **Ruling Through Loving Guidance **sometime, or ask Albus about him later, since he actually knew him." She gave the fellow professor a wry look. "Or, who knows, you may run into him sometime, since his ghost haunts the castle. Just be warned that he will always direct you towards very upset students that need a shoulder when you are on patrol." Her husband and father-in-law had gotten all three placements right, but had refused to bet. Dumbledore had gotten the closest, much to the chagrin of the staff, who now owed things like lemon drops, socks, and mead to the ancient headmaster.


	7. Chapter 7

**Own this I do not. In the UOLG universe, Dale is straight, he just had never married. Also keep in mind that Sirius, Regulus, and Barty Crouch, Jr. are all alive because the veil spat them out after the final battle. Rabastan Lestrange was under an evil curse, as was Barty, hence why they were Death Eaters.**

**Sense (Us of Lesser Gods, fall 2002)**

Narcissa was able to sense that tonight would not be an ordinary night as soon as Everett walked through the door of the manor and into her sitting room.

"Hello, Cissa," he said softly, dropping a kiss on top of her head. "How was your day?"

"Quite well," she replied, looking up as he sat down across from her. She chose not to mention that Draco had owled her a note that stated that he suspected that his stepfather was coming down with something. There had been a vicious stomach flu going around Hogwarts, where they both taught, that stomach-settling potions and headache and fever-reducing potions barely affected if at all. "Mother came by for tea, as did Andy." They had all rebuilt relationships after the war, since both Druella and Narcissa had lived too much in fear of their husbands to have any real contact with Andromeda before that. Narcissa had married Everett due to the Repopulation Act, and Andromeda had been assigned Everett's only slightly older brother, Dale. Draco had been right to be concerned, Narcissa observed to herself. Everett was very pale, and there were deep shadows under his eyes.

"I trust they are well?" Even though they had been married for eleven weeks, and had known each other for six weeks before that, they still seemed to have to go through formalities before they could really talk about anything. Everett wished that tonight she would show spontaneous affection towards him, or just ask if he were all right, even if he would just minimize how bad he was feeling.

"They are. Mother is eager to have all of us together this weekend, and Andy thinks that she might be pregnant."

"Dale will be over the moon, if that's true." He winced slightly. His head was beginning to pound, but he was allergic to nearly all pain potions, since they were willow-based.

"Everett?" Narcissa's voice was deeply concerned, and he felt a cool hand on his forehead. "Are you unwell? You look rather pale."

"It's just a bad headache. Nothing serious." He suppressed a chill that he was sure meant that he would be joining the legions of stomach flu sufferers within the next twelve hours.

"Have you taken anything for it?'

"Can't. Allergic to almost all pain potions."

Narcissa covered her mouth with one hand at seeing the naked pain in her husban's eyes. The thought ran through her mind that Lucius would never have let her see that, or would have made her pay dearly if she had. "Is there anything you can take that might help?"

"Check the medicine cabinet in our bathroom. Should be a bottle that says 'ibuprofen'. I'll be behind you, 'cause I want to go ahead and change for bed."

Narcissa went into the bathroom as her husband changed into pajama pants and a t-shirt. She looked all through the cabinet, but found none. "I'm not finding any," she said with trepidation.

Everett looked behind her. "Shit. I must have forgotten to pick up some the last time I was out."

"Is there anything else you can take?"

"No. Maybe if I lay down in here where it's dark until dinner is ready, it will ease up a bit. Don't serve anything heavy. I don't think my stomach could take it." He sat down on the edge of the bed and lowered his head into his hands. He felt Narcissa card her hands through his hair a bit, then kiss him on top of the head.

"Get some rest, Everett. I'll wake you when dinner is ready."

He nodded and lay down on the bed. Narcissa covered him with a light blanket, then went to discuss the change in dinner plans with the house elves. Since Lucius' demise in the Final Battle, the house elves had come out of their shells, and had come to love their new master, especially since he never hit mistress or made her cry, and treated young master and mistress as his own, evidenced by the way he treated his own daughter and son-in-law. Narcissa changed the dinner to a light soup, since her husband was not feeling well. Draco had just gotten over the stomach flu, as had his wife, Astoria, so Draco had taken his meal separately, since, besides teaching third through fifth year arithmancy, he had to bolt his food in order to meet his research partner and stepsister, Amy, at St. Mungo's in order to analyze the proportion of lycan factor to autoimmune symptomology in werewolves who developed autoimmune symptoms ten or more years after infection. So far, the duo had confirmed what organ systems the lycan factor attacked first, but not how it attacked, or why it took ten-plus years to begin to do so. Narcissa understood the importance of that, especially after Everett had shared some if the research with her, and since Andy was terrified of losing Remus, who, shortly after marrying Hermione, began showing the autoimmune symptoms at a rapid rate. Carl Latham, the head of Draco's department, was Everett's older brother, and had married Lavender Brown, who was four years post-infection. The rest of the team was Amy, Audrey Weasley (nee King, married to Percy), Alma Weasley (nee Sheppard, married to Fred), Bryn Crouch (nee Latham, married to Barty Jr.), Regulus Black, Rabastan Lestrange, and Lavender Latham (nee Brown). Draco and Amy were analyzing the factor that Carl and Everetr had isolated years before. Audrey and Alma worked on unusual cases of poisoning and misuse, Bryn did mind-healing and handled legal issues along with Regulus, and both liased with Hermione, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was the new Minister of Magic, and his vice-minister, Eugene Cummings. Rabastan controlled supply inventory and ordering, while Lavender transcribed, sorted, and sent files. Draco and Amy were also training Rabastan and Regulus to take over some of the potions work in preparation for when Amy became pregnant.

While Narcissa was planning the next day's menu, her daughter-in-law, Astoria, walked into the room. Tori had become pregnant almost as soon as she and Draco had married nine weeks before. At first, Narcissa had not been sure what to make of the fragile-looking brunette, though she soon realized that the fragility was deceptive. "Do you need help with anything, Cissa?" she asked. "Draco has already returned to St. Mungo's. They think they're on the brink of discovering a definitive rubric of factor counts and symptomology."

"That is fortunate." She gave her daughter-in-law a genuine smile. "Is soup acceptable tonight? Everett is not feeling well, and did not want anything too heavy."

Tori winced in sympathy. "I hope it's not that stomach flu. Draco and I both felt like something a hippogriff would turn up his nose at when it was over. Soup is fine with me, dear."

"I'll go wake him, since Lucky and Mitzi are bringing it in as we speak." Narcissa went down the hall to the bedroom she and her husband shared, leaving the final steps with her capable daughter-in-law.

"Ev," she said softly, shaking his shoulder gently. "Soup's ready." She was alarmed at the heat radiating through his thin t-shirt. He looked so much younger asleep, she realized yet again. Sure, he and his siblings had inherited the dominant genetic fluke that made them appear younger than they actually were, even for a witch or wizard, but asleep he looked almost as young as Draco.

"Alright, Cissa," he mumbled dizzily, leaning into the cool hand his wife had laid on his forehead. He got up, stumbling a bit, then followed her to the small dining room. That had been their one big tiff when they were discussing how to combine their lifestyles and possessions. Everett hated the idea of eating in a big dining room for every meal. He saw no point in laying everything out for a big meal when there would only be between two and six most nights. He had finally convinced her to try it by saying that they could change it back if she hated it. Narcissa ended up loving it. It was easier to talk to each other, and the ease of cleanup freed the house elves up for other things.

It had taken Everett time to get used to house elves; though he came from a large and very wealthy American Wizarding family, his mother had been a muggle, and they were used to being responsible for the majority of their own duties. There had bern a few cultural hiccups, though he had been living in the UK for about twenty years, but the house elves adored their new master, who was beyond kind to them, never laid a hand on mistress, or on young master or mistress, or even his own daughter and son-in-law. Even when disagreeing about something with them, he never resorted to violence.

With Narcissa's help, he sat at the table. Fortunately, it was a light broth. An actual heavy soup would have made him nauseous.

He slowltly ate about half the bowl, then laid his napkin over it. "I can't eat any more, Cissa."

"That's all right," his wife replied, getting up and kissing him on the forehead. She frowned in concern. If anything, he was warmer than before.

Tori noticed her mother-in-law's look of concern. "I'll take care of everything here," she said. Tori knew that Narcissa was beginning to care a great deal for Everett; that Lucius had not destroyed her ability to love, and also knew that Everett cared a gread deal for Narcissa, and was patient with het slowness and irregularity in opening up to him due to her prior treatment. She hoped that if Ev had to be ill, it would break down more of the walls between them.

Everett nodded, trying not to aggrevate the dizziness, while Narcissa smiled in sincere appreciation. Tori had given her a few less things to worry about as she led her husband back to their bedroom.

As he finished preparing for bed, she changed into a nightgown. At first it had seemed strange to share a bed with her husband almost every night. Lucius had only visited her until Draco was conceived, occasions that she preferred to forget, and had left her alone for the most part after that. On the other hand, Everett preferred to sleep in the same room with her. At first, it wad just getting used to each other's presence, but now Narcissa found that she too slept better with him around.

By the the time she had braided her hair and climbed into bed, he was almost asleep. She looked over at him, reaching out a hand to smooth away a lock of hair from his face. "Good night, Ev. Wake me if you need anything."

He nodded as his eyes slid shut and Narcissa turned out the light.

She was unable to say later what woke her up, nor did it matter to her. She woke up, not knowing why she was awake, then realized that the bed was empty beside her. She made the lights come up a bit, then saw the light on under the bathroom door, and that the door wasn't closed all the way. She winced as she heard a retching noise, then something hitting water.

"Ev, are you all right?" she asked, wsking toward the door.

"Not..." She winced as he vomited again, then gave out a low, pained moan. "Could you get me a clean shirt, Cissa?" he asked softly. He swore under his breath and retched yet again.

Narcissa went and got the clean shirt out of the drawer. She knocked on the bathroom door, then stuck her head in.

The sight that greeted her would have melted a heart of stone. Her husband was seated next to the toilet with his arms wrapped around his bent knees, his head laid on top of them. He looked up at her, his blue eyes glazed over with fever and pain. "Come on," she said gently, kneeling down beside him. "Let's get you out of this shirt." She figured that as fast as both Draco and Tori said the symptoms had hit them that he probably hadn't had much time to react before throwing up. She helped him to change into the clean shirt, tossing the stained one into thr basket for the house elves to take care of. She then got up and pulled a cup out of the cabinet and ran some water into it. "Slow sips, just enough to get the taste out of your mouth," she said softly, getting a washcloth and dampening it with cold water. She began running it along his face and the back of his neck.

"Feels good," he mumbled, dozing for a few minutes with his head against her shoulder.

He dozed for about fifteen minutes by Narcissa's reckoning before he made a hasty scramble for the toilet, just barely making it. She ran a hand up and down his back as he threw up several more times into the toilet. She noticed that he was crying out in pain between rounds of vomiting, which was making her begin to think that this might not be the stomach flu.

This time when he finally stopped, she was ready with a cup of water for him to rinse his mouth out with and for him to try to drink a few small sips of. She re-dampened the cloth and ran it along his face, smiling sadly as he leaned into the coolness of her hand. She helped him to shift so that his head was in her lap. She began stroking his hair.

"Thanks," he said softly after he had been quiet for so long that she had hoped that he might have gotten to doze off between rounds.

"For what?" she asked. She couldn't have left him alone this ill, not when she was beginning to care for him. She didn't dare use the word 'love' yet, but she knew her feelings were heading in that direction.

"For staying." This time, he did manage to doze for a few minutes before he woke up and was so violently sick that he was half-sobbing, half-screaming in pain between bouts of vomiting. She was also frightened to realize that he wasn't keeping any water down, nor was he sweating. He needed help that she could not give, nor did she feel comfortable leaving him to get it.

"Accio Ev's mobile phone!" She didn't know how to use the thing, really, but maybe she could get help.

"Carl," Everett managed to gasp out between bouts of retching and moaning.

Alright. Somehow she was supposed to call Carl. She flipped the phone open with her right hand, her left carding through her husband's hair. After looking at the buttons for a moment, she decided to hit '1' then 'send'. Immediately, the name 'Carl' popped up on the screen and she heard a ringing. Halfway through the third ring, her brother-in-law answered. "Hey, Ev. What's up?"

"Carl?" Narcissa was terrified and she knew it.

"Cissa? Honey, what's wrong?" Carl's tone changed immediately to concern, and he went from half-asleep to wide awake.

"Ev's sick. He can't keep anything down, his fever keeps going up, and he's hurting badly.

"I'll be over in five. I'll want to see him before I give him anything or do anything. Invite me past your wards as soon as I hang up, because I won't be stopping. I'll have Lav call Draco, Dale, and Amy." He hung up.

"I, Narcissa Calliope Black Malfoy Latham invite Carl Neal Latham into Malfoy Manor." She summoned a light blanket as she felt her husband's body tremble with fevered chills. Unconsciously, she started humming a tune that Andy had often hummed to her when they were children, and even teenagers, and she had been frightened. It was a muggle song, so it had been their secret.

"My mother loved that song," Carl said, stepping into the room. He immediately knelt down beside his brother. "Where does it hurt, Ev?" He asked laying a hand gently on his brother's forehead.

"Back...stomach...back worse."

"Higher or lower."

"Middlish,...worse if..."

"I was going to ask if it hurt worse if you needed to pee," Carl said, moustache quirking.

"Yeah. Usually start puking."

"I'm going to run a couple of spells to make sure," Carl said, as much to Narcissa as his brother, "but I think you've got another kidney stone. I don't doubt that you've picked up this nasty flu as well, but the stone had to join the party."

Carl ran the spells, then nodded sharply. "You just have a good-sized stone with some infection with it. You dodged the flu bullet for now. I'm going to have Draco get some supplies," he pulled out a forge-proof supply request slip, ticked 'emergency priority' on it, and made out a list. "I also have some medications that St. Mungo's needs two authorizations to dispense. One is mine," and he filled out the information and signed. "The other is actually Amy's. We check behind each other," he explained to Narcissa as Amy came in, double checked her uncle's prescription, then signed of on it. "Some muggle medications have to be carefully calibrated by weight of the patient." Narcissa watched as Amy squeezed her father's shoulder, then gave him a kiss on the forehead. Her relationship with her own father had been so distant and formal that at times Amy and Everett's seemed surreal.

"And others are dangerous in other ways," Draco said softly. That is why I am getting the supplies from Rab, then he, Dale, and I are escorting Amy. Carl nodded, and Draco and Amy left.

"They should be back shortly," Carl said to Narcissa, who was still stroking her husband'd hair. He was dozing, much to the relief of his brother and his wife. "I'n giving him fluids, since he is dehydrated, plus pain meds and anti-nausea meds and an antibiotic for the infection. Once the pain is under control, I'll use a spell to bust up the stone, and he'll pass the pieces, no problem. He gave his sister-in-law a wry look. "It's the closest men can get to natural childbirth, they say. I'm not eager to find out. Seeing my little brother go through it the nearly half dozen times I have is enough."

Narcissa winced. She had given birth to Draco without any anesthesia. Lucius had forbidden it, so she knew how much pain Carl was implying. "My first husband forced me to go natural. Thar hurts..." she could not come up with a remotely ladylike description.

"...like hell, yes. You can say it bluntly; it will not offend me." He looked at his brother as though to make sure he were truly dozing. "He cares a great deal for you, you know."

"I'm starting to care for him as well. I was terrified tonight. I still am." Every time he had half-sobbed, half-screamed during the worst bouts of vomiting, her heart had shattered, and it had taken everything she had not to start sobbing herself. As it was, some tears were falling now.

"You did good, little sister." Carl laid a hand on his sister-in-law's shoulder. "You were out of your depth, but you stayed afloat. That's all being brave really is; staying afloat when you feel like sinking."

When Draco, Amy, Dale, and Rab returned with the medications and equipment, things noved swiftly. Dale and Rab teamed up to set up the equipmemt quickly, Draco laid out the IV line and inserted it, and Carl double-checked and administered the medications. When Everett had slipped into a truly pain-free slumber, Carl quietly cast the spell to bust up the stone. "He should pass everything in the next day or so. Don't be alarmed if you see a little blood," he said, directing the statement mainly at Narcissa, "because that's normal."

Narcissa nodded in understanding. This night had scared her to death, and she had realized that, while she did not dare use the word 'love' yet, she could no longer imagine a life without Everett in it. As Carl levitated his brother over to the bed and Draco, Rab, and Dale moved the equipment, Amy came over and embraced her stepmother. "Thank you, Cissa, for being there. I've seen Dad through this about three times, but it still scared me every time."

"I'm just glad he's all right," Narcissa said, looking over at the bed.

"So am I, Cissa. So am I."


	8. Chapter 8

**Own this? Not I. UOLG is completely AU from book 7, so a lot of people didn't die, but some still did.**

**Don't You Dare (Us of Lesser Gods, fall 1998)**

It was the day that the Hogwarts express was to leave the platform for the first time since the war. It was the first of October because of the repairs that had been required.

The end of the war, as well as the trials afterward, had caused new lines to be drawn. Many who had been thought evil had been at least neutral, or even good, they had just been trapped. Draco Malfoy was a prime example. With everything that came out about Lucius', who had died in the final battle, treatment of his wife and son, most felt that, had he still been alive he should have been put under Azkaban. Even Harry had testified on Draco and Narcissa's behalf, as Narcissa's lying to Voldemort's face had been critical to the light winning.

Another big thing that had come out was that Dumbledore had faked his death and had been directing the war effort from behind the scenes. Only a handful of people knew that Draco had come to him for help when he had been ordered to kill him. From there, Draco had been placed in contact with shadow members of the Order and taught skills to ensure his survival. The curse Snape had used to "kill" Dumbledore only mimicked the appearance and effects of the killing curse for about sixteen hours.

One of the biggest things to happen after the war involved the veil. Moments after the final battle, the veil had spat out three people: Sirius Black, Regulus Black, and Barty Crouch, Jr. All three had appeared to be between the ages of eighteen and twenty. All three were examined at St. Mungo's, then put on trial, trials that were as intensely followed as the muggle Watergate trials of the 1970s. The courtroom was packed, and everyone else was glued to the WWN. Sirius was found innocent due to irrefutable proof, including a body, that Peter Pettigrew had been alive up until 1998, and had a Dark Mark. Regulus' charges were dismissed due to the fact that he had been underage when he had joined the Death Eaters, there was evidence that he had not joined completely of his own free will, and the fact that he had literally died to get out. Barty's case ended in a full and unconditional pardon, as it was discovered that he had been under the _Imprisio_, a particularly evil offshoot of the _Imperius_. He had known what the false persona the curse created was doing, but was powerless to stop it. The testimony of Bryn Latham, a researcher in mind magics, had been influential. She had discovered his plight as a seventh-year student, and had counteracted the curse as often as she dared while trying to find a way to completely lift it. When time had run out and his capture was inevitable, she had put a fail-safe charm on him to keep the dementors from obtaining his real soul. Fudge had ordered him put through the veil in order to conceal his poor judgement. Bryn had known enough about the veil to know that the veil was not the death sentence many thought. Her documentary on the veil was highly anticipated. Discovering that he had not been the only one under the curse had been a deciding factor as well. Rabastan Lestrange had been found nearly catatonic after the final battle and had been discovered to be under the curse as well. The hardest thing for both Barty and Rab was that they would have to learn to live with what their bodies had done though their minds had not consented.

As people were being seated on the train, it was a motley crew that found themselves in one car: Hermione Granger, a seventh-year Gryffindor named Amelia Latham, Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown, and a sixth-year Slytherin named Astoria Greengrass who was close friends with Amelia, who preferred to be called Amy. As soon as Draco Malfoy poked his head in, looking for a seat, Amy said, "Get in here and sit down, Draco!" The two of them had met when he, claiming the Malfoy seat on the Board of Governors, had interviewed her father for a position, and they had hit it off. _Let's mess with them a bit._ As a natural legillimens, mind-speech came to her very easily.

He gave a smirk and sat down next to Amy.

"I hear Professor Lupin is coming back this year," Lavender said quietly. She too was now a werewolf due to Greyback. Remus Lupin had almost died in the final battle, had Amy not engaged Dolohov, thus distracting him. Tonks had not survived, though Bryn, who was Amy's aunt, had tried to save her. Bryn had engaged, and after a very long and intense duel, ultimately defeated Bellatrix Lestrange. Remus, with the help of Andromeda, was raising his and Tonks' son, Teddy.

"He is," Hermione confirmed. "It was enough to get Harry and Ron to come back, though they didn't have to. I wonder who the new potions professor will be though, since Professor Snape is dead."

"I haven't heard anything," Lavender said.

"Nor have I," Ginny added.

Draco and Amy glanced at each other. They knew it was Amy's father, Everett Latham, but wanted to watch everyone squirm a bit before telling them. Astoria saw the glance and asked the first question. "Do you know, Draco? You sat on the board this summer."

"Yes, I do."

"Male or female?" Lavender asked.

"Male."

"Do I know them?" Amy asked with a slight smirk. _Don't you dare give in yet._

_Wasn't planning on it._ "I would hope you did," he replied out loud.

"Does he know any of us?" Hermione asked.

"Amy, Tori, and myself," Draco replied.

"Is he related to any of you?" Ginny asked. She remembered something about at least one of Amy's relatives being a potions master.

"Yes."

"Is he related to Amy?" Lavender asked.

"Yes."

"Do you know who it is,Tori?" Hermione asked.

"I do now." She had figured out that it was Amy's father as soon as she had seen Draco and Amy glance at each other.

"Is it your father, Amy?" Ginny asked. That was the closest male relative Ginny could think of, since she knew Amy to be an only child.

"Yes, it is," Amy said, smiling.

"What's he like," Hermione asked.

"In the classroom, strict but fair," Draco said. "Outside of class, very cool."

"He is very nice," Tori said. "I've spent time with Amy every summer since I was little.

"I'm glad he got the job," Amy said very seriously. "We miss each other like crazy during the school year."

"What about your mother?" Hermione asked. She really didn't know Amy very well. She then saw the looks on Tori and Ginny's faces and realized that she might not have asked the most tactful of questions.

"She died before I turned two," Amy said. "I don't really remember much about her except that she had blonde hair."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "So you and your dad are close?"

"Very. Some people might think it's weird that I consider my dad to be my best friend. In a way, it was just the two of us, though two of Dad's brothers, Carl and Dale, have always lived with us, as well as my cousins, Sam and Chelsea, and Bryn. My dad and uncles more or less raised her because my step-grandmother had a lot of health problems after my youngest two uncles were born. Uncle Carl's wife, Sandy, died a little over a year after my mom. I consider Sam my brother, and Bryn and Chelsea my sisters."

"I remember Bryn," Hermione said, "but not Sam or Chelsea."

"Chelsea was Head Girl our first year," Lavender said. "She was really nice to me."

"Oh, I remember her now. She had reddish blonde hair, and until she asserted herself, kept getting mistaken for a first-year because of her height."

Amy smirked. "She definitely did not get the height. Sam is adopted; Uncle Carl adopted him when he married Aunt Sandy, and is completely muggle. He works for the Ministry, though, helping come up with plausible muggle explanations for wizarding accidents."

"So, do you look like your dad?" Ginny asked.

"Somewhat. I got the height; I'm 5'11", and I got the eye color and skin tone." She had very intensely blue eyes. "The auburn hair pops up occasionally, and my hair is a bit curlier than his."

Draco looked at his watch. "Hermione," he said. She jumped at not being called 'Granger'."We need to gather the rest of the prefects. Lavender might as well be one, but we still need to meet with the others."

"Right. Most of them know the rules and what to do, we just need to set up a patrol schedule and get to know each one of them that we don't already know."

So the prefects filtered in and out, picking up duty rosters from Draco and Hermione, which kept them occupied until they reached the school.

In the carriage, Ron and Harry were grinning at Hermione and Ginny. Harry and Ginny were going strong as a couple, but Ron and Hermione had decided, after an awkward and uncomfortable month, that they were better off as friends.

"I'm glad Remus is coming back," Harry said. "Though I worry how Siri, Reggie, Barty, and Rab will be without us to keep them in line." Grimmauld Place had become a giant bachelor pad, but it was also convenient for Bryn and her fellow mind researchers to have their subjects (and Bryn hated the word, because she felt that it negated their humanity) in one place.

"They will be all right," Ginny said. "Siri and Reggie have adjusted well to not being exactly dead anymore, and physically being our age again, and Barty and Rab are adjusting well to being in control of their own thoughts and actions again."

"We sat with Remus and the new potions professor," Ron broke in. "His name is Everett Latham, and he gave us permission to call him Ev outside of class. He seems to really know his stuff. Oh, and they made him head of Slytherin, too."

"Remus was a bit leery of him telling us why Dumbledore made him head of Slytherin," Harry said.

"Well, why did he?" Hermione asked. "We sat with his daughter on the train, and she's a Gryffindor."

"Amy, right?" Ron said. At Harry's puzzled look, he added, "She was a year behind us. Tall with dark red hair. Quite pretty, too."

"Dumbledore wanted somebody who did not go to Hogwarts and would not favor Slytherin over the other houses, like Snape had to because of the war, but would also protect the Slytherin students from prejudice and abuse from the other houses, and other professors if necessary." Harry frowned. 'I hadn't realized how badly the other houses treat the Slytherins, all because Voldemort was a Slytherin, and because most of his support came from there."

"Well, it wasn't something that was often talked about," Hermione said. "It doesn't make it right, but we can fix it now."

"Right," Ron said. "He said he wants to start us all off on a clean slate, since he doesn't really know many of us at all."

"What does he look like?" Ginny asked. "Hermione and I only know that Amy got his height and eye color."

"He's extremely tall," Ron answered. "I'm 6'2" now, and he's more than half a head taller than me. He's not skinny, but not bulky either. You won't be able to miss him."

Hermione had to agree with Ron on not being able to miss the new professor when she saw him at the staff table talking to Remus. He was most of a head taller than Remus, and lean, though not skeletal, with wavy dark brown hair. He was not dressed in robes, but a muggle suit. "Dad hates robes," Amy whispered to her. "He thinks they make him look like a scarecrow."

Hermione had to snort at that image. She had the feeling that it was going to be an interesting year.


	9. Chapter 9

**Me own? No way. One of my few attempts at short fics. **

**Grey (Us of Lesser Gods, June 1996)**

Grey was all Sirius saw as he fell through the veil. Harry, the battle, his insane cousin; all was seen through a filter of grey.

Then he landed with a bump. Even the place that he landed was grey, though there was shading now. He looked up as he heard a noise. There was a woman in middle years looking calmly at him.

"Am I dead?" were the first words out of his mouth to the dark-haired woman.

"Not exactly, and I am Emmeline Latham, the caretaker of this realm. To get out of this place, you must go through the maze and retrieve the one person whose death you truly regret in your heart of hearts."

He sucked in a deep breath. "You mean to tell me that if I retrieve Regulus that we can get out of here? Both of us?"

"Exactly that."


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own this.**

**Colour (Reassembly, fall 1978)**

Regulus did not expect anything out of the ordinary when he went on his Head Boy patrols that night in November. That is, until he came across the first-year Gryffindor in the hallway near the Charms classroom.

"What are you doing out of your tower?" he asked.

She gave a grim smile, and he recognized her as the Bel Latham that Jade hung around with. "Looking for you."

"Why ever for?" He was not significant, just a trapped Death Eater who had never wanted to join to begin with.

"To give you this." She grabbed his wrist, and her eyes were, rather than their normal intense blue, a swirl of all colours and none, the mark of a true seer. " You will be placed in the position of life and death over an auburn-haired girl. If she lives, you live. If she dies, you die. So mote it be."

Regulus was stunned. This was not what he had expected when he had begun his patrols that night.


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own this.**

**Roses (Reassembly, spring 2000)**

Neville awkwardly patted his jacket pocket, where the box of sugar roses he had bought Midoriko as an 'I'm sorry' gift were located. Ginny had been nice enough to warn him not to buy anything with chocolate in it, since it made fox demons and half fox demons violently ill.

Nestled in the center of the box of sugar roses was a ring. If she had married him by demon laws, he was going to do it properly by wizarding laws. They could not get married until she turned seventeen, but that did not stop him from buying her the engagement ring that he was giving her tonight.

The past week had been a huge adjustment. First off, he had almost died, then he woke up to find out that his half-demon girlfriend had taken him as her mate in order to save his life, then after a meltdown where he came to terms with the fact that he was now married, he had been swamped with information via Ginny, who was married to Midoriko's brother, Hajime. He was still adjusting to the heightened senses and the rapid healing.

He reached up to his shirt collar to rub at his mating mark, which was the ten-pointed star sigil of his wife's house, then stopped himself. Ginny had explained to him that rubbing it could be misinterpreted through the link created by the marks in a sexual manner, and he had no intention of touching het until they were married by both sets of laws. Dori kept her mark, which was on the inside of her wrist, since she had had to take him as her mate quickly in order to save his life, covered up by a five-inch wide embroidered cuff so that she did not accidentally arouse him.

Neville turned off the light in his office and went to go meet Midoriko in Dumbledore's office. From there, they would go to Diagon Alley for dinner, then he would ask her to marry him in the human manner.


	12. Chapter 12

**Me no own. This came about because Lavender has to have parents.**

**Gain (Us of Lesser Gods, June 2002)**

Paul Brown sat at his desk and waited for his assistant, Sam Latham, to arrive. He was going to have to tell Sam that he would be out of the office for several hours so as to meet his daughter's ministry-assigned fiance. Lavender had owled him and his wife, Rosemary, asking if it was all right for all of them to meet at ten a.m. in order to get used to each other. She said that the Carl Latham that she had been assigned to was very nice, though quite a bit older than her. Paul and Rosemary only cared about how their daughter was treated, especially with her werewolf status.

As Sam came in, Paul wondered if Carl were any relation to the potions professor at Hogwarts that Lavender had liked so well.

'"Sam," he said as he came in.

"Yes, Paul?" Having to come up with plausible muggle explanations for the various incidents of the war had broken down almost all formality between them.

"I'm going to be out of the office for several hours in order to meet my daughter's fiance. You know about the law."

Sam nodded. "I was going to ask to leace at about two to meet my father's fiance. Who did your daughter get?" Sam adkef, taking a sip of water from a bottle.

"A Carl Latham."

Sam managed to spray the wall in shock. "That's my dad. Your daughter is marrying my dad."

Paul blinked in shock. "So I am asking off to meet your father, and you are asking off to my daughter."

"Apparently." Sam smirked.

"Does he look anything like you?"

"Nah. I'm adopted. He adopted me when he married my mother. That's never mattered to either of us, though." He pulled out his wallet. "This of him and two of his brothers last Christmas. He's the one on the right, the one in the middle is my Uncle Dale, and the one on the left is my Uncle Ev."

Paul looked at the picture. The man on the right had dark chestnut hair, a moustache, and a kind, good-natured look about him. The three brothers who all bore a marked resemblance to each other when it came to coloring, were obviously very close. "Is your father any relation to the potions professor at Hogwarts?"

Sam laughed. "Yes. That's Uncle Ev. He's got a daughter a little younger than yours."

"I've met Amy several times, and like her far better thsn the girl Lavender is living with. I just didn't make the connection. How is your father about werewolves?" Paul knew that Everett Latham had been very kind to both Lavender and Remus Lupin, and Lavendrt had said that one time when he had been ill, one of his brothers who was also a potions master had brought a batch of wolfsbane that he had been working on and had filled in for his brother in class.

"Dad's devoted his life to improving wolfsbane as well as trying to delay or even prevent the long-term health issues associated with werewolfism. He's head of the Investigative Healing Department at St. Mungo's." He quirked his mouth, a nervous habit that he had picked up from his father. "His department doesn't get a lot of publicity, nor does his research. Mostly because it is so recent, both wars, and becsause it is stuff a lot of people just don't want to think about." He sighed. "He views werewolfism as a chronic disease, like muggle diabetes, though he compares the level of prejudice and lack of education to the muggle disease HIV, to be managed, rather than something that should cause you to be shunned, be unable to get a job, or live a mostly normal life.

Paul noddef. There was still a great deal of prejudice in the wizarding world about werewolves. Those who were known to be werewolves often had a hard time getting and keeping employment, rarely married, and were shunned by many, even if they took precautions and could obtain wolfsbane on a regular basis. It had only been the desperatiob of the ministry to boost the population that had led to werewolves being considered human enough to marry under the Repopulation Act, though Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was now Minister of Magic, and his vice-minister, Eugene Cummings, both haf no problems themselves with werewolves. Cummings Paul knew to be a decent man who had been able to maintain an outward appearance of neutrality, if not silent support, of Voldemort's ideals, all the while funneling money, information, and defectors to the light. Eugene had had nearly everyone fooled, though Kingsley, Dumbledore, the late Alastor Moody, and oddly, Draco Malfoy, had known the truth. Well, perhaps not so oddly on Draco's part. He had humbled himself to the very man he was supposed to kill, and in return he had been connected to a network of people in both the muggle and wizarding worlds that taught him how to observe while seeming to be uninterested, how to lie well, and how to just survive. He had humbled himself, he had said while addressing the court at his trial, because he did not want to be a third-generation lapdog to a truly insane man, and he had learned enough of human genetics to know that if pureblood families only bred with pureblood families, they would, and, dare he say it, already almost had, breed themselves out of existence. He also had observed half-bloods and muggleborns that were just as, if not more, capable than he was. Magic was so new to them that they did not take it for granted as many purebloods did. Most of the muggles that helped in the war effort had family that were witches or wizards, were squibs or married to squibs, or were foreign-born from countries that, like the US, did not have a Statute of Secrecy at all, or the laws were looser. It had led him to conclude that a lot of the pureblood doctrine that had been fed to him his entire life was a lie. The other thing that had come out was how _horrible_ Lucius had been to his wife and son. While he had never directly laid a hand on his son, the pressure to be the perfect Malfoy was unreal, and lapses were not tolerated. Curses were frequent as were cutting words. For Narcissa, she was virtually Lucius' prisoner rather than his wife. Any real or perceived slight or mistep, any request for a kindness, any deviation from what Lucius wanted (though he was never clear WHAT he wanted), was treated with physicsl violence and curses that, even with magic, would incapacitate her for several days. Apparently, Abraxas had been a restraint on Lucius while he was alive, but could do nothing for his daughter-in-law and grandson dead. Draco was smart enough to realize that things would more than likely get worse for his mother, who he loved more than anyone, and himself, if Voldemort won. He would be forced to marry Pansy Parkinson, who would be Lucius' spy, so he would never be free. That intelligence had been enough to save him by leading him to humble himself to Dumbledore.

Paul returned from his musings to see Sam regarding him curiously. "Don't you think you'd better be preparing your wife to meet my dad?"

"Yes, yes, I guess I ought to be doing that." Paul was hopeful now that he felt his daughter just migjt be gaining rather than losing in this law after all.


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own this.**

**Rain (Reassembly, summer 1986)**

It was raining, and Bel was bored. Severus was holed up in his lab experimenting. It was the day after the full moon, so owling Remus would not be a good idea, and Jade was working.

She could draw, since she had her sketchbook. She decided to draw whatever came into her mind.

Several strokes later, Severus came up to her. "What are you drawing?"

She looked down at the picture. "You experimenting." It was a picture of Severus peering over a cauldron's steaming contentd. He looked content, a rare smile playing on his lips.

"It's quite good."

"Thank you."


	14. Chapter 14

**I don't own this in any way.**

**Tide (Reassembly, March 2000)**

Narcissa looked out over the grey-gresn water as the tide came in on the North Carolina coast. This was a new experience for her, travelling and vacationing like a muggle. Everett enjoyed the anonymity it gave him that travel in the wizarding world did not.

This was the first vacation they had had since Oliver had been born. Oliver was a little over a year old, and was a beautiful child, with big blue eyes and dark brown curls. His cousin/aunt Tonks was smitten with the little boy, and she and Everett's brother, Levi, had leapt at the chance to babysit him and his half-sister, Lucius' posthumus child Lucretia, called Lucy within the family, who had just turned three a few months before.

She felt her husband snake his arms around her and lay his chin on her head. She leant back into his embrace, then tilted her head up to kiss him.

They did not yet know it, but their second child was conceived that afternoon.


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own this, faithful readers. C'mon, I know you're out there.**

**Memory (Reassembly, fall 1995)**

Severus held back the temptation to deduct several hundred points from Gryffindor. Longbottom had melted his cauldron yet again, reminding him painfully of Bel _yet again_, and some inane student was wearing the same perfume that Bel used to wear.

Especially now that his memory was restored, reminders of her were painful. He could still see her dark brown curtain of hair, hear her laugh, and smell that perfume that he had now traced to a certain Miss Granger. He would have to remember to ask her to not wear that again, though he half-hoped she would, just to be able to remember a time when Bel was with him instead of in the time-turner.


	16. Chapter 16

**Not mine.**

**Home (Reassembly, spring 1999)**

Home was Carl, Lavender realized. The soul-bond aside, she felt as like half of her was missing when he wasn't around.

They had been married six months now, and she was three months gone with their first child.

She peered out the window anxiously. It was pouring rain, and Carl was running late. One hour passed, then two. Finally, she heard the key turn in the lock.

He was soaked to the bone, but that did not matter as she launched into his arms. "Oh, Carl, I'm home now."

He embraced her just as intensely. "So am I, Lav. So am I."


	17. Chapter 17

**I don't own this. My attempt at an almost all conversation ficlet.**

**Poetry (Reassembly, summer 2009)**

"How did you know Papa was the one for you?" twelve-year-old Lucretia Malfoy asked her mother. "I know Father died before I was born, and that that was an arranged marriage."

"I was seven months pregnant with you. You know that your Papa and Uncle Dale were Draco's defense teachers his last three years at Hogwarts, right?"

"Yes, Mama."

"Well, your Papa, as your father was dying, was charged with the care of you, Draco, and me. He took that seriously. He was here almost every day after that, making sure that I had everything I needed, even company when your Aunt Andy, Amy, or Jade couldn't be."

"Oh! Mira and Lyra are my best friends, and Gene's nice, too."

"It was fortunate that we all had children close togethet. You don't realize it when you are a child, but your siblings and your cousins are your first real friends."

"So how did you know Papa was the one?"

"Certainly not by poetry. He was there for your brother when he needed guidance, and was there for me when I needed somebody to lean on, but it took him nearly dying for me to realize that I did not want a life without him in it."

"Oh, no! What happened?" Lucretia loved her stepfather like her own, and not just because he was the only father she had ever known.

"He was here one Friday night with Draco when I was seven months pregnant with you, and he fell ill. He thought it was the sromach flu that was going around, but it turnef out to be appendicitis. Draco had to call your Uncle Carl, who got him to St. Mungo's to take the appendix out. Another hour and it would have burst. That made me realize that I did not want a life without him in it. We got married when you were three months old."

"And now you have Oliver and Emmy."

"Yes. Ollie will be starting Hogwarts this year, and I am genuinely curious as to which house he will be in. You were the first Malfoy in Ravenclaw, though Draco said the hat wanted to put him there. Ollie has bravery, brains, patience, and cunning, so I am anxious to find out.


	18. Chapter 18

**I don't own this.**

**Tempest (Reassembly, fall 1976)**

**Because I wanted nice!Filch**

Few of the jealous older girls realized the tempest that they were about to create, or the whirlwind they were about to reap when they decided to bully second-year Jade Cummings for having the attentions of Sirius Black, the boy every boy wanted to be and every girl wanted to be with. They failed to see that Sirius loved Jade for herself, despite the fact that she was tall, skinny, and freckled. Nor did they count on the staunch defenders of James Potter, Remus Lupin, Olivia Cummings, Lily Evans, Mary McDonald, Alice Norton, Frank Longbottom, and even Severus Snape, Regulus Black, and Narcissa Black, three people whom, allegedly, there was no love lost between them and Sirius.

It had started small, just belongings turning up missing, damaged, or destroyed. It moved on to stinging hexes, minor curses, or being pushed into walls or locked in abandoned classrooms. The last had even made Mrs. Norris sympathetic towards her. The kneazle would just chirrup at her, then go get Filch to let her out, which he would usually do with an exasperated growl, and if there was no one, or just Dumbledore or McGonnagal around, an awkward pat on the shoulder.

What finally spurred Dumbledore into action was Jade almost dying when a bludger was deliberately hit to her back during a quidditch game. It was so obviously deliberate that the player was pulled from the team and later suspended.

Only the most persistent and foolish of bullies tried after that. They even tried after Dumbledore, in one of his rare addresses to the student body, had made the point that there was a line between pranks and practical jokes and bullying that must never be crossed, and that doing so would be met with swift and sure discipline. He knew the true loyalties of those who allegedly had no love for Sirius, so he would permit their little "war" that they carried on so that they were able to stay friends under their parents' noses, but that was it.

Few tried to brave the tempest and bully her because Sirius chose her after that, and all failed.


	19. Chapter 19

**I don't own this.**

**Loss (Reassembly, winter 1981)**

Jade felt the loss of Sirius keenly. She couldn't let her grief show, not even the solace of tears, at least not where anyone could see. That was the thing about having a fiance that was locked up for a crime that he didn't commit; she could not properly mourn him. She had even had to go with her best friend, Bel Latham, to Azkaban to pretend to break their engagement.

When Christmas Holidays came, she finally broke and sobbed in the shower for over an hour until her mother and sisters came in and fussed over her. Her father swore to fix it, but it would take time and careful planning on his part.

Jade just wished that someone had smelled a rat.


	20. Chapter 20

**Insert generic disclaimer here.**

**Ghost (Reassembly, June 1998)**

Sometimes Everett loved to ghost his hands across his wife's skin, feel the softness beneath his calloused fingers. He loved the reactions he got as he ran his hands across her cheeks, down her neck, across her breasts.

Sometimes he couldn't believe how lucky he was; that Narcissa had chosen to be with him; that this life was his. He was a stepfather to two wonderful children with a child, his second, her third, on the way.

As his hands ghosted over the swell of his seven-months pregnant wife's stomach, he wondered what he had done to be so richly blessed.


	21. Chapter 21

**I do not own.**

**Datty (Us of Lesser Gods, summer 2002)**

**My first attempt at stream-of-consciousness fic**.

T

The day had come for Narcissa to officially meet her ministry-assigned fiance, and she was terrified. Her marriage to Lucius had not been a happy one. The only good thing that had come from it was Draco, who had come into his own since Lucius had died in the Final Battle. He had went back for his last year at Hogwarts, and had made real friends, rather than sycophants. One of those friends was going to be his stepsister soon. She had met Amelia the summer after they had graduated from Hogwarts. She had been a year behind him until the end of the war. Narcissa had been impressed by the girl's manners and personality, and had asked Draco if he were interested in pursuing her. His response was now ironic; that he saw her more as a sister than anything else.

She wondered what sort of price that she would have to pay for requesting that Draco be present when she met with Everett Latham. Draco had assured that Everett, who had been Draco's potions professor after the war and had become a friend to him, was not like Lucius had been, punishing and making her pay for every real or perceived slight or misstep, but she was prepared to pay.

She jumped at a knock on her dressing room door. "Come in."

Draco poked his head in. "Mother, Everett is in the parlor." He smiled and lowered his voice. "I think he's as nervous as you are."

She had the grace to look only mildly startled at that. Lucius had been confidence personified. She was not even sure what her husband-to-be looked like. Amelia, his daughter, had curly auburn hair and intensely blue eyes. Draco had told her that he was very tall, much taller than Lucius had been, with dark hair and the same blue eyes that his daughter had.

"Mother, he truly is not as Father was."

Narcissa squared her shoulders, took one last glance in the mirror, then took her son's waiting arm and let him escort her to the parlor.

Draco led her into the parlor, and a very tall man with wavy dark brown hair stood and walked over to them. She was intimidated by the fact that her head barely reached the middle of his chest, but refused to let it show.

Everett, this is my mother, Narcissa. Mother, this is Everett Latham."

Everett bowed low to Narcissa, then said in a reassuring bass, "A pleasure, milady."

"The pleasure is mine," she responded, curtseying in response. He was well-mannered. That spoke in his favor quite a bit. Draco had mentioned that Amy's mother had been a muggle named Joanna that had died before Amy was two, so there were no prejudices there. The off-topic thought that her mother, Druella, who had actually respected Andromeda for choosing love over conformity, would be impressed by him flitted through her mind. Druella had lived too much in fear of Cygnus to overtly support or aid Andromeda, though she had often subtly managed at great risk, and

mother and daughter, as well as the two sisters, had rebuilt their relationship after the war. For the best now, since Andromeda had been assigned Everett's only slightly older brother Dale. Narcissa had never met Dale, nor had Andromeda until she had been assigned him, but Andy had said that he was kind, compassionate, and loved children. Andy prayed that she could give him the one child required by the Repopulation Act.

The rest of the meeting went well. By the time it was over, Narcissa was cautiously optimistic about a marriage with Everett. He proved to be kind, considerate, and funny. It had helped that Draco thought highly of him, and that he had a close relationship with his own child.


	22. Chapter 22

**I do not own this.**

**Stars (Reassembly, December 1979) **

**Listen to "Long Away" by Queen to get my mood. Also, Regulus did not die in Reassembly, but Sirius thought he did for sixteen years.**

It was a month after Regulus had died before Sirius broke. Jade had been waiting for it, and was ready when Severus sent a patronus saying that she was needed. James apparated to meet her, and brought her to him via side-along.

He was a mess. He had been drinking, but not enough to be drunk, just enough to lower the front he had managed to keep up so that his mother would truly think he had cut himself off from all his family save Andromeda, so that she wouldn't realize that he and Regulus had kept in close contact. He sobbed in her arms that night, mourning what might have been, and the the things his brother would never get to do.

CJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJ

On the other side of the world, Regulus was pointing out stars to Amy from his bed. The potion of despair from the cave, then the chelation potion Everett had given him to counteract it had taken a lot out of him, and he still was not really well yet.

"Promise me, Amy, that you will only tell Sirius the truth if the war is over."

"I promise, for now, unless circumstances change to warrant it."

"Spoken like a true Slytherin."

"I tell the truth. I will tell him if things change and the benefits outweigh the risks.


	23. Chapter 23

**Me no own**

**Shadows (Reassembly, fall 2000)**

"But, Daddy! The dark is scary!" Four-year-old Lyra was fighting going to bed. She swore there were monsters under the bed and creatures in the dark, and Regulus was at his wits' end. Then he remembered something Sirius had done to ease his fears as a child.

"Lyra, how about I teach you how to make shadow puppets? Your Uncle Siri taught me when I was about your age and scared of the dark, and our Cousin Andy taught him."

"Really, Daddy? What are shadow puppets?"

He led her into the darkened bedroom, a little light coming in through the window, then manipulated his hands into dogs, birds, and rabbits, until Lyra fell asleep with a smile on her face.

_This was truly living._ He looked up and smiled as Amy came in with their son, Castor, asleep in her arms.

"Dad did the same thing when I was her age," she said softly.


	24. Chapter 24

**I don't own this.**

**Mirror (Reassembly, June 2017)**

Twenty-year-old Lucretia Malfoy met her stepfather's eyes in the mirror. She was getting married today to her best friend, twenty-one-year-old Gene Black

"You ready, kitten?" Everett asked her. "No one would think any less of you for backing out, you know," he added half-teasingly. He knew Lucy and Gene adored each other, and had since they were quite young.

"I'm ready, Papa." She picked up her bouquet and reached for his arm. "I love you, Papa, and you're not losing me."

"I love you, too, kitten," he replied, eyes misting. Giving Lucretia away was no easier than giving Amy away had been, and he was sure giving Emmy away would prove just as difficult.


	25. Chapter 25

**I don't own this. In the Reassembly universe, male pregnancy is possible, though difficult.**

**Ice (Reassembly, December 2000)**

"Remus! Your hands are like ice!" Dale exclaimed. He grabbed his husband's hands and began rubbing them between his gloved fingers

"I forgot my gloves, and I didn't expect it to be this cold," Remus admitted sheepishly.

"It is North Carolina in December! You should have told me, especially in your condition."

"Don't worry so much, Dale. My hands are just a little cold because I forgot my gloves!"

"I can't help but worry. We're goung to have a baby to worry over in about three months."

"Believe me, I know. I'm worried, but you're worrying yourself sick. That won't do anybody any good."

"Very well," Dale sighed. "I'll try to ease up on the worrying, if you'll take the extra pair of gloves in my pockets."

"Deal."


	26. Chapter 26

**I in no way own this.**

**Incense (Reassembly, spring 1997)**

Narcissa loved the smell of Everett. He had a spicy smell, sort of like incense. He smelled a bit like the muggle soap he used, and a scent that was uniquely him that she knew amortentia would smell like to her.

She had an opportunity to smell amortentia a short time after their marriage, while they were stilk exploring each other. Severus had brewed some for lecture purposes at Hogwarts. Narcissa smelled it and realized that it had that same incense smell that was purely Everett. He had a flush of color across his cheekbones from working in the lab with Severus, but she could have sworn it deepened when she said it smelled like him.


	27. Chapter 27

**I do not own this. You know, I make myself write and/or edit something every day, both in my fandoms and my original stuff. It keeps my mind busy, and keeps me sane.**

**Fight (Reassembly, summer 2013)**

"...fight this, Buck."

Regulus regained consciousness, gasping and panting. The nightmare again. He had truly thought he was going to die after he had drunk the potion of despair, and before Everett had obtained the ingredients for and brewed the chelation potion to remove it from his bloodstream. His father-in-law had said that he had stopped breathing several times before he finally stabilized. That was when he had started calling him Buck. All of the Lathams had nicknames of some kind, and they often gave their loved ones nicknames.

He got out of bed and padded through his family's wing of the house, checking on each of his children. Sixteen-year-old Lyra was working on her summer potions essay when he came into her room.

"Nightmares again, Daddy?" Lyra always could read him, much like Amy always could.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I just need to see and touch all of you." He hugged her tightly. She tilted her head and kissed him on the cheek.

He then checked on twelve-year-old Castor, who was parchment messaging his eleven-year-old cousin and best friend, Pollux, who lived in Sirius' wing of the house. Castor gave his father's arm a squeeze, understanding his father's need without words being said.

That left his third child, six-year-old Arcturus, called Artie by his family and friends. He was sound asleep, so he pulled the blanket up around the little boy's shoulders. He smoothed a lock of curly auburn hair away from his face, then went to find his wife.

She was in the kitchen, watching as Kreacher prepared two cups of cocoa. She would usually do it herself, but being pregnant with their fourth child made it hard for her to stand for long. This child had been even more unexpected than Artie had been; unexpected, but not unwanted.

He was glad that he had listened to his father-in-law in those dark days and fought to live.


End file.
